Danse Macabre
by Rainia Wolf
Summary: Tania has always been different, not fitting into her foster family. Tania's best friend Fallon seems to know something about her that Tania doesn't, along with her jealous older sister Phoenix. A mystery that Tania's determined to solve. *FINISHED*
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: concepts of Night World and its characters belong to LJS, Tania Harman-Redfern, Phoenix Redfern, Cort Blackthorn, Stacia Darke, Parker Redwood, Fallon Wolf, Elsie the dog and anyone else unrecognised belong to me. Please ask me if you wish to use them  
  
Summary: Tania has always been different, not fitting into her foster family. Tania's best friend Fallon seems to know something about her that Tania doesn't, along with her jealous older sister Phoenix. A mystery that Tania's determined to solve.  
  
Part 1  
  
Tania was unhappy. Everything was going bad. It was so unfair. She sat alone on the swings of a local playground. The call had come two days ago, telling her Mom and Dad weren't going to be coming to pick her up. Something had come up, and they had had to go away. And she had to leave. Tania was a smart girl for only five, smart enough to know that mean the big "D" word. Mom and Dad were D-E-A-D. The grown-ups always spelled out that word. It was supposed to be a bad one. No one ever said it in front of little kids.   
  
The family she now lived with were rich people. They spoke weird and everything in their house was big and expensive and people yelled if you played with it. She missed home. The only friend she had now was her Elsie, her big brown dog. Her new family, Mr. And Mrs Redfern, didn't really like dogs very much.   
  
It didn't matter. Elsie didn't like them. She barked at them, all the time. She looked around the play ground, seeing everyone there was laughing and happy. One of the girls came running over to where she sat on the swing.   
  
There was something strange about the girl. She wore a white top, with a design of a black flower. Tania could remember seeing her mom with a necklace with a black flower once. Her mom had told her they were very special flowers, and they were worn by special people. Her mom had once told Tania all about the special people who wore black flowers. But Tania had forgotten.  
  
"Hi," the girl said. "My name's Fallon. What's yours?"  
  
"Tania," Tania said.  
  
"You seem sad. Wanna come play with me?"  
  
And Tania had been happy then. Fallon was the first friends she had had in this strange new town.   
  
When Tania brought Fallon home to play in her huge big house, something strange happened. Fallon could do cool things with candles. She could blow on the wick, and they would light. Tania was fascinated. Fallon could run faster than any other person she'd ever met. Fallon was the best friend in the whole world. She was fun and always listened when she had a problem. Sometimes, she seemed to know exactly what Tania was thinking.   
  
That day Tania had put on a necklace her mother had given her, one of the black flowers. She'd called the flowers iris and dahlia. The Redferns had children of their own. A daughter who was older than Tania. She was a big kid who had just turned the Big Ten. She didn't seem to like Tania very much. Phoenix was pretty, her hair was the colour of fire, her eyes were strange. They shifted colour fro moment to moment. She didn't like Fallon much either. She didn't seem to like anyone but herself.   
  
She saw Tania run down the stairs her necklace glittering ion the track lightning. She reached out, grabbing Tania's pale gold hair, forcing her to stop.   
  
"Ow," Tania whined. "That hurt. Why'd you do that?"  
  
Phoenix didn't say anything. She looked at Tania's necklace. "Where'd you get that?"  
  
Tania looked down at the flowers. "My Mommy gave it me before she went away, She said they were special flowers and special people wore them, and that one day I would do something that would help a lot of people. She said I was a special person." Tania paused. "She didn't say what I would do or who I would help."  
  
Phoenix didn't say anything. She looked over Tania's shoulder to see another girl had come in with Fallon. The other girl was Stacia, Phoenix's best friend. She was Fallon's baby sitter. Fallon's parents worked for a big organisation called Circle Daybreak who helped a lot of people. Helped them do what, Tania wasn't exactly sure. Fallon had kind of been skimpy on the details there. She wore a black flower on her earrings.   
  
"Cool necklace," Fallon said. She looked surprised and happy.   
  
Tania ran off with her friend, ignoring the strange looks Stacia and Phoenix were giving her. Maybe she should have paid attention.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Phoenix had always wondered why her parents had adopted a human. It was surprising. Humans were supposed to be useless. Mom said they only thing they were good for was food and slave labour. So why were they so tolerant of little human Tania?   
  
Unless...Tania wasn't human after all. She'd been wearing black flowers, and black flowers were the symbols of the Night World. Irises were for vampires, like her, and dahlias were for witches like Stacia.  
  
"What's wrong?" Stacia asked.  
  
"There's something weird about Tania. I have to tell Mom."  
  
Phoenix found her mother in one of the other rooms of the big house, having something done to her long nails. Phoenix wished one day her nails would look like that. She wished she could look as pretty as her mother.   
  
"There's something wrong with Tania," she said.   
  
Her mother sighed. "We've talked about this before. Be nice to Tania."  
  
"It's not that. She was wearing a Night World flower on her necklace," Phoenix said impatiently. Why did her mother never listen.   
  
But she listened this time. "What flower?"  
  
"An iris and a dahlia. She said her mom gave it her and she also said her mom said that Tania was going to do something special to help a lot of people one day."  
  
Her mother was frowning. What was happening here? Why was Tania wearing Night World symbols? Humans weren't supposed to do that.  
  
"Go and play, girls," her mother said distractedly.   
  
Phoenix looked at Stacia, who just shrugged. There was no other option but to go.   
  
"What was that all about?" Stacia asked.   
  
It was Phoenix's turn to shrug. She didn't know what was going on either.  
  
* * *  
Coral Redfern frowned. She dismissed the manicurist, and walked out into the back yard of the mansion. She watched the two little kids splashing about yelling in the pool. Her eyes focused on Tania, the girl's pale gold hair flashing in the bright sun, her violet eyes glittering brightly with happiness. She really did have no idea of who she was. Had Tania's mother told her about the Night World? Tania knew she was special, but she had no idea how special.   
  
No idea either, that she was a Wild Power.   
  
* * *  
  
  
  



	2. Part 2

Part 2  
  
12 years later...  
  
Wind was raging, rain falling in sheets, lightning flashed and thunder boomed. The alley was dark and cold, but Tania knew he'd show up sooner or later. She heard a noise behind her, and whirled round, plunging her stake into the heart of the monster who tried to sneak up on her. Leech.   
  
She smiled, watching the monster jabbering uselessly, the light going out its animal eyes. Within minutes, the vampire skin was going yellow and leathery, peeling away from the flesh, leaving a sac of old bones there. She stepped over the corpse, leaving it where it was.  
  
What to do now...  
  
Tania made her way out the alley. The small island of Moon Bay was quiet. Being after midnight and a school night, most of the kids were in bed. She didn't see anyone she knew as she wandered down the dark, deserted streets, eyes peeled for signs of Night People. There seemed to be a large proportion of them in the town, and so few hunters, like herself.   
  
Monsters. All of them. They were the ones who had killed her parents. It had taken her a long time to finally learn the truth about what happened, what her adopted family really were. Of course, they had no idea about Tania's little "hobby". As far as they were aware, Tania didn't know anything about Night World.   
  
  
Or that she was a damned Daybreaker. What would they do if they found out? All she needed to do was make sure she kept the secret from blabbermouth Phoenix, who was home after graduating from college. She was supposed to be looking for a place of her own, but never seemed to get round to it. Her friend Stacia had come to stay, and they lounged around all day like spoiled cats.   
  
A walk around the entire island took less than hour. Tania checked the park, the junior high, the elementary, the high school. No vampires, no shifters. Nothing. She had to admit, she felt a little disappointed.   
  
After finishing, she went home, sneaking back in the house through the back way. She dreaded to think what her foster parents would think if they caught her coming in this hour. She pulled out a small book with a hardback cover, jotting inside her findings. She always liked to keep records of her work. She had records of things she'd found, monsters, what they were capable of, kills, a whole database.   
  
She called her CD contact, a werewolf called Kyara. "Hey, it's Tania," she said, as soon as the other girl answered.   
  
"Anything good to report?"  
  
"Nothing," Tania's said, rather gloomily. "Except for one vampire kill. That's it."  
  
Kyara chuckled. "You sound almost disappointed."  
  
"I don't know," Tania admitted. "It's weird. Where are they all?"  
  
"Who knows?"  
  
"Well maybe it's something we should find out," Tania said. It seemed as if the Night People were up to something. It was December, the hunt was on for the final Wild Power, it all depended on which side got him - or her. So far, no one even knew who it was.   
  
"You do that," Kyara said. "You need any help, call us."  
  
"Sure. Bye." Tania hung up. She walked over to the large window and sat on the upholstered window seat looking out. The sky was black, stretching out for miles and miles above the manicured landscape of her family's mansion.   
  
Was there something going on with the town's Night People? It was up to her to find out.   
  
* * *  
  
Part 3  
  
"Tania! Get the damn door!" Phoenix's voice called out from upstairs.   
  
Tania sighed, ignoring her, continuing flipping through the channels of the large, cinema size TV in the lounge. Phoenix and Stacia had been hogging it all day, as if they had nothing else to do. Tania couldn't wait to be rid of them both.   
  
The doorbell chimed again, and a second time, she heard Phoenix's wine from upstairs. "Tania! You have to make them wait!"  
  
Tania groaned. Phoenix sounded like she's just stepped out of *Clueless*. It certainly suited her, Tania thought, an eyebrow raised. The sooner she got rid of Phoenix and her friend the better. Maybe tonight's hunting would be better than last night. At school everything had been ordinary. Nothing had happened, the Night People there didn't seem to be doing anything bad or out the ordinary. It made Tania confused. She *knew* something was up. It was just driving her crazy trying to figure out what.   
  
She opened the door, finding Phoenix and Stacia's boyfriends, Parker Redwood and Cort Blackthorn. They both gave her dazzling smiles as she moved aside to let them in.   
  
"Hey, kid, they ready yet?" Parker asked, shoving past her.  
  
Tania bit back her lip on a smart retort. She ignored his remark. He always called her, "kid" just to piss her off. She was eighteen, not *that* young. Of course, to a two hundred-year-old vampire, who was she? She was fully aware both Parker and Cort were vampires, well over a hundred and fifty. Stacia was a witch. She allowed herself a small smile, they didn't know she knew.   
  
"They're not ready yet, they'll be down in a minute," she answered, heading back into the lounge, to find the talk show she'd been watching to find Cort had replaced it with Monday Night Football on EPSN. "Hey! This isn't your house!"  
  
"Who died and made you boss?" Cort said with a shrug. "All right!" he cheered as someone got a touch down. Annoyed, Tania reached out, trying to snatch the remote but Parker took it, holding it high out her reach.   
  
"Calm down, kid, we'll be out of here in a few minutes," he said, an amused grin lighting up his handsome face. He was cute, sure, but scum underneath. Cort was no better. There was a stake in her purse by the armchair. All she needed was to make a quick lunge...  
  
Instead, she couldn't help herself. Her fist shot out, smashing hard into Parker's laughing, arrogant face sending him stumbling backwards. Cort laughed, and an expression of fury crossed Parker's features. A normal human would have been terrified of such sudden anger. But vampire fury didn't intimidate Tania. She smiled unpleasantly and waited eagerly for his attack.  
  
He ran at her and she moved out the way easily. The fight was fast turning into a macabre dance as she countered his every move. Her senses were aware of everything, fixed on nothing. A trick she'd been taught called *zanshin*, a state of total mind awareness.   
  
When Parker grabbed her bare arm, something happened then she wasn't aware of. Sparks suddenly seemed to shoot from the skin to skin touch. Parker pulled away, looking at her in alarm.  
  
"What the hell did you just do?" he snarled.   
  
"Don't ask me!" she snapped back.   
  
He tried to grab her again, and the same thing happened. With all the force she could master Tania shoved him away, her body still tingling with electricity. The room turned vaguely pink. She and Parker stood in the centre of the lounge, opposite each other, both breathing hard, glaring with hatred.   
  
Electricity and tension of some sort hung in the air. Tania couldn't describe it. She'd never experienced anything like it before. It -   
  
"What the hell is going on in here?" Phoenix demanded, coming into the room.   
  
She stood in the centre of the doorway with her hands on her hips, a flame-coloured dress showing off her every curve and a daring amount of her long slender legs. Everything about Phoenix was red and gold, fire coloured.   
  
Parker seemed to have gotten a hold of himself now. He threw one last glare at Tania before going to kiss Phoenix. Phoenix smiled, running her blood red nails through his dark hair as his arms wrapped around her and their lips met. A glance over at Stacia and Cort and they were doing the same. Stacia's dress was long and black and slinky. She looked like Morticia from *The Addams Family.*   
  
Tania wasn't prepared for the sudden bout of jealousy that happened when she watched Phoenix and Parker. She hated both of them. Why should it bother her so much? Both Phoenix and Parker shot furious glares at her. Tania returned the look evenly.   
  
Phoenix flipped back her red-gold hair and walked out the door, dragging Parker with her. Stacia and Cort followed.   
  
Tania picked up the remote and turned the channel back to the one she'd been watching before, and of course, the show had finished. She sat there for a few minutes flipping idly, not really paying attention. Her circuits were still fried by that strange encounter with Parker. What *was* that?  
  
She shuddered, unsure if she really wanted to know.   
  
* * *  
Phoenix kept herself calm and composed. She didn't make any fuss about the little scene she'd walked in on with Tania and Parker. She hadn't like the strange electricity in the air that had been almost visible, and the definite sexual tension between her sister and her boyfriend did not make her happy.   
  
Was there something going on between Tania and Parker? There seemed to be. The tension and heat was there every time they were in the same room. Parker swore there was nothing going on between them. He was a vampire, Tania was vermin. It was forbidden.   
  
If it was forbidden for vampires to fall in love with humans, shouldn't it be forbidden to adopt them too? The reasons for adopting a human were still beyond Phoenix, even now.   
  
There was only one solution for dealing with Tania in Phoenix's opinion.   
  
Kill her.   
  
No Tania, no problem. Right?  
  
* * *  
  



	3. Part 3

Part 4  
  
"Earth to Tania! Anyone home?"  
  
Tania blinked focusing on the voice of her best friend, Daybreak witch Neona Harman. "I don't know," she answered. "Try again in a few minutes."  
  
"Very funny. What's up, Tan? You've been out of it all day," Sheila Abforth said.  
  
It was lunch period and they sat in a secluded classroom eating their lunch. Rain was pouring outside, and the sky was thick and grey. It was depressing, and seemed fitting somehow. Tania couldn't understand why she felt like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.   
  
"Something weird happened with my sister's boyfriend last night," she admitted finally.  
  
"Woo-hoo!" Talasai Blackthorn cheered. "Go Tania! That'll piss that bitch off!"  
  
"No, no, not woo-hoo," Tania snapped annoyed. "Parker's a *vampire*. I hate him."  
  
"Is he cute?" Shelia asked.  
  
Tania stared, feeling her annoyance rise. "God, do you think of anything else?"  
  
"Cute and powerful, what more could you want?" Shelia said with a shrug, tossing her orange hair over her slender shoulders. Tania sighed and shook her head. Sheila was a witch, but could be quite dim sometimes.   
  
"What happened?" Neona asked.   
  
Tania frowned. "I don't know how to explain it, he came in to pick up Phoenix last night, and pissed me off when he started changing the TV channel without being invited. I hit him and started a fight, and then when his bare hand touched mine something...something happened. Got, it was almost like he fried my circuits. The room turned pink." She shuddered at the memory. It wasn't any clearer now than it had been back then. She didn't understand.  
  
But Neona was smiling a little, her blue eyes were shining with something like hidden amusement. "It sounds a little like soulmates to me."  
  
Tania stared, disgusted. "Oh please. That's just a story."  
  
"It's not!" Talasai protested. "If you ever get a chance to go to Daybreak headquarters you should see some of the people there. About half of the important people are all soulmates. It's unbelievable."  
  
Tania snorted. "In my opinion, it's soppy crap. I won't believe it until it happens to me."  
  
Neona smiled. "It looks like it might have already happened, but you just don't want to believe it."  
  
Tania glared, but didn't say anything, because a sinking feeling inside her was telling her the same thing. She didn't understand. Soulmates were supposed to be perfect for each other, they were supposed to be the ultimate love of your life. She hated Parker's guts. Plus, he was Phoenix's boyfriend. If Phoenix even suspected something was going on, and she might already, then Tania would regret it. She wasn't sure if her adopted parents would even try and stop Phoenix from hurting her. She couldn't tell if they were Daybreak or Night World. Sometimes they seemed like they might be Daybreak, other times it seemed not. She kept her own actions and ideals to herself, just in case. She knew without a doubt Phoenix would fight for Night World without having to be asked.   
  
"If the boy pisses you off so much, why don't you just kill him?" Shelia suggested.  
  
"I might have to," Tania said. She didn't say anything else the rest of lunch break. She couldn't seem to get Parker out of her mind. The sooner she got rid of him the better. Yes. That was the solution. She was starting to feel more cheerful already. Get him before he got her, then everything would be over. Wouldn't it?  
  
* * *  
  
Part 5  
  
Parker was annoyed. That little human had been in his mind ever since his strange encounter with her. He couldn't understand it. When Tania had touched his bare skin it had been almost like an electric shock...but there had been something sensual about it too.   
  
He didn't know what to do. Phoenix was suspicious and he knew she'd raise hell if she thought there was something going on between him and Tania. Quite literally, unfortunately. He shook his dark head angrily. What the hell was he thinking?  
  
He stretched leisurely, then leant against the tree he'd been hiding under, as he spied on the girl. Phoenix had decided that the only way he could prove to her that it was really her he wanted, was to kill Tania. Tania was human. Vermin. Even if she did look like a Harman.   
  
He watched as the door to the house he'd been spying on opened. Tania and another girl came out. They talked for a few minutes, then Tania waved and started walking home. Parker dropped his cigarette and snuffed it out and started following her at a safe distance, trying not to focus on the nice view she provided.  
  
She really was pretty. That pale gold hair looked like a waterfall cascading down her back. Her hips were nicely curved, her legs long and slender. She wore jeans, sneakers and a sweater, but somehow managed to make just that casual outfit look incredibly attractive.  
  
He groaned aloud. What the hell was happening to him? Falling for vermin? This was a disaster.   
  
Tania stopped then, turned around and saw him. She frowned, not pleased to see him. He was well aware she hated him. If nothing was ever going to happen between them why waste time with her? He had a lot of questions that didn't seem to have any easy answers.  
  
"Parker?" she asked. "Why are you following me?"  
  
Parker opened his mouth to lie, then figured he might as well just tell her the truth. The sooner it was out in the open the better. "I'm in love with you."  
  
The look of shock on her face in other circumstances would have been comical, but for some reason he wasn't laughing. He remained frozen in horror. What *was* that? What the hell was wrong with him? That was *not* the truth he'd been planning on telling her. He was there to kill her...not woo her.   
  
But...who the hell was he kidding? Of course it was the truth.   
  
Tania's eyebrow had raised. "You're...in...love...with me," she said slowly. She chuckled. "Well, stranger things have happened."  
  
He felt himself flush with anger and embarrassment. He had made a total fool of himself and she was *enjoying* it. She didn't believe him. "I didn't mean it," he said quickly.  
  
She smiled, her head tilting. "Yes you did. You're a lousy liar. I can see it in your eyes."  
  
He smiled at her, feeling his canines lengthening, He knew his eyes were turning to molten silver and his hole face taking on a predatory look. Tania didn't look impressed at all. She was without a doubt the most infuriating person he'd ever met. Well, with one exception. Phoenix wasn't any better. He only put up with Phoenix because she was so hot.  
  
"You're going all vampy why?" Tania asked.   
  
He grinned savagely. "I'm going to kill you. That's why I'm here."  
  
"Oh." Her gaze darkened slightly. "Phoenix sent you, didn't she?" Tania was looking around. The road they were on was surrounded by dense forest and woods. The next house was about a twenty-minute walk away. They were nicely isolated, and not a soul was in screaming distance. Perfect.  
  
"Yeah, Phoenix told me to kill you," he admitted.   
  
Tania was frowning. "Why does she hate me so much?"  
  
Parker shrugged. "Cause you're vermin, that's why."  
  
Her lip curled. "I may be human, but you love me."  
  
He scowled at her. "Can we just strike that from the record, please?"  
  
Tania grinned at him. "Where's the fun in that?"   
  
Fuck loving her. He was going to enjoy digging his fangs into that perfect, swan-like neck so much. It would be such a pleasure to suck her dry. His gums tingled at the thought and his vision was staring to sparkle with red at the thought of the tasting her blood.  
  
He started advancing.  
  
* * *  



	4. Part 4

Part 6  
  
Tania remained standing where she was, letting Parker get closer. A cold wind blew, chilling her. She didn't shiver. Parker, of course, had no idea about her hobby of killing vampire scum like him. Her hand slipped inside her purse, around her stake, and she continued to wait, watching him grinning an animal grin, his eyes shining in the dim light.   
  
"Not going to run? Or scream?"  
  
She laughed harshly. "It takes a lot to scare me, and you don't. Frankly, you're irritating me."  
  
Insulting vampire ego was not a smart thing, one she had learnt from many hard lessons, but still, it was a compulsion she just couldn't help.  
  
What she didn't like was the weird crackly tension in the air as he came ever closer. There was something hovering around the two of them, almost like a silver curtain. She wondered vaguely if he could see it.   
  
He reached out to grab her arms, and she yanked her stake out, ready to strike it home. As he leaned to grab her bare skin, the same thing happened that did the other night.  
  
Sparks seemed to shoot, like being electrified, and her vision was going strangely pink. Parker glared at her in helpless fury.  
  
"What the hell are you *doing?*" he demanded.   
  
"I'm not doing it!" she shouted back, moving away from him, holding the stake in front of her, more to protect her from the strange connection rather than him.   
  
And then everything got even stranger. As she moved backwards, Parker suddenly sprang forward, knocking her down. A fast blur of something brown appeared, knocking Parker off her.   
  
Tania's head hit the concrete and she blinked as lights began to swirl around and her vision began to waver. There was a *wolf* attacking Parker. Was she seeing things right? Where the hell did that come from?   
  
She sat up, and for a moment, wondered if she was going to be sick, she took several deep breaths, managing not to be. The wolf howled then, and she smiled a little, watching Parker glance at her, the wolf, and suddenly turn and run.  
  
"Tania?"   
  
Tania blinked again as she focused on her friends, running down the road. Shelia and Talasai helped her up. Tania glanced over at the wolf, who wasn't a wolf anymore, but a girl about their age. Her hair was a mop of dark brown curls, her eyes glowing silver. She looked somewhat familiar.   
  
"Tania what happened?" Neona asked.   
  
Tania frowned. "That's what I'd like to know." She looked over at the werewolf.   
  
Much to her already growing surprise, the werewolf girl looked a little hurt. "You don't remember me?" she asked Tania.   
  
Tania's frowned deepened, as she tried to place where she'd seen the girl from before. Memories were starting to rise in her mind, of laughing and giggling when cartoons were fun, and new toys were exciting, sad times when she'd been alone, and a little girl had asked her to come and play...  
  
"My God," she said. "Fallon?"  
  
Fallon smiled a little. "You do remember."  
  
"Yeah. You're a werewolf?"  
  
Fallon nodded. "Hmm. I couldn't tell you because there were rules about it, and that bitch of a sister of yours would go blabbing if I told. But you..."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Tania said. "The Night World, everything. We're Daybreakers."  
  
"What's going on?" Neona asked.   
  
Talasai frowned. "Maybe we should find somewhere a little more private where you two can explain what's going on cause the rest of us don't have a clue."  
  
Tania nodded. "Fine. But I don't have any more ideas than you do."  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Part 7  
  
Phoenix paced up and down, waiting for Cort and Stacia to come back with their report. Somehow, she knew Parker couldn't be trusted anymore, so she'd sent them to spy on him, and if he didn't do what she'd told him, they'd tell.  
  
The door to the study opened and she looked up as they came in. Cort was shaking his head in disgust. "Parker really is an idiot," he snorted.  
  
Phoenix frowned. "Why?"  
  
Stacia sat down in the large office chair behind the desk, crossing her elegant long legs. "Because Parker told Tania he was in love with her."  
  
Phoenix stopped dead. "What?"  
  
"He followed her home, she caught him, asked why he was following her and the stupid asshole said he was in love with her. Then he seemed to get hold of himself and went to kill her, and there was something weird in their air that was a lot like a soulmate connection," Stacia said.  
  
Phoenix shook her flame-coloured head, not wanting to believe what they were telling her. How could they do this to her? She had trusted Parker, God, even loved him. And he had bitterly betrayed her.  
  
Anger seethed inside her, boiling, making her fists clench in rage. Cort seemed amused.  
  
"What's so Goddamn funny?" she snapped.   
  
"It's kind of ironic really, isn't it?" he said. "You don't expect your boyfriend to be your baby sister's soulmate."  
  
"Adopted sister," Phoenix snapped.  
  
"That's the thing I don't get," Stacia said. "Your family are Redferns. Redferns are vampires. They despise humans, they're the ones who want to destroy the world when the millennium comes. So why the hell would your parents adopt a little human?"  
  
"Maybe Tania *isn't* human," Cort suggested. Phoenix and Stacia stared at him. He stared back. "Oh come on, you can't say you haven't noticed how much the girl looks like a Harman. She has the eyes and the hair and everything. Hell, even a necklace with a fucking dahlia on it."  
  
Phoenix frowned. Maybe he was right. She turned to her dad's file cabinet and began searching through it until she found Tania's adoption file.   
  
She yanked out Tania's birth certificate. Cort and Stacia looked out.   
  
"Well, what'd ya know?" Cort said, seeming rather smug.  
  
Phoenix ignored him. Everyone got to be right at least once in their life. "She was christened Tatania Harman-Redfern."   
  
"So she's half witch, half vamp," Stacia said.  
  
Cort frowned. "What happened to her parents."  
  
Phoenix frowned. "They were killed by vampire hunters. Tania once told me her mom said she was going to do something special and help save a lot of people."  
  
"Maybe we find Tania and get her to tell us what the hell's going on," Cort suggested.  
  
Right twice in one night. He was on a roll.   
  
* * *  
Part 8  
  
Tania and her friends sat around a table in a local Night World coffee house, The Full Moon. Due to the large number of Night People on the small island, there was booming business for cafes like this and clubs like the Black Iris chain. Tania finished the story about what happened with Parker. Both times when she'd been confronted in a fight with him, this weird electric sparky thing had had been hanging around them, as if it wanted to electrocute them.   
  
"It sounds like a soulmate connection," Neona said insistently.   
  
Tania glared at her. "Will you stop that? It's not soulmates!" she snapped. "Maybe he's in love with me, but that doesn't change anything. I hate him!"  
  
Shelia's lips curved into a smile. "Are you sure?"  
  
Tania ignored this, and turned her attention to Fallon, who had sat there silently. "Why were you suddenly there?"  
  
Fallon frowned. "I was hunting in the woods, on my way home and I saw him. He was going to hurt you."  
  
"I could have taken him," Tania said, annoyed. "I'm a vampire hunter."   
  
"And you live with a family of vampires?" Shelia asked.   
  
"That always surprised me," Tania admitted. "Why would a bunch of vampires - Redferns, nonetheless, adopt a human."  
  
"Because you're *not* human," Fallon said. "You're the Fourth Wild Power."  
  
Tania blinked. "What?" She realised all her friends were looking at her, looks of surprise and disbelief on their faces.  
  
"Oh God, how could we have missed it?" Neona said. "I should have seen it."  
  
"Seen what?" Tania asked, feeling her annoyance rise.  
  
"You have Harman traits - the pale gold hair, the violet eyes," Talasai pointed out. "One of your birth parents must have been a witch."  
  
Tania didn't know what to believe. She sat there in silence, not really listening. A witch?   
  
"Remember that necklace your mom gave you?" Fallon asked.   
  
Tania blinked. She reached under the collar of her sweater and pulled the chain out. The black flowers glittered in the light of the candle on the table. "Yeah."  
  
"Then you know what species the two flowers stand for," Fallon said.  
  
Tania frowned. "Black iris is for lamia, black dahlia is for witches."  
  
"So you're half and half?" Neona asked.   
  
"No," Tania said instantly. "I am *not* a vampire. Vampires are scum."  
  
"Thank you," Talasai said dryly.  
  
Tania flushed. "Well, most vampires. Besides," she added, "if I'm a vampire, how come I've never needed to feed?"  
  
Fallon shrugged. "Half breeds don't need to use their vamp powers. You don't need to feed the vampire part if you don't want to use your vampire powers."  
  
"Your adopted parents might have known this," Neona suggested.  
  
"How come no one told me?" Tania asked.   
  
"Maybe because the Redferns are the bad guys," Fallon suggested. "They want all the Wild Powers dead. If Daybreak have less than one Wild Power then the darkness will win, it's inevitable." She quoted, "Four to stand between the light and power/Four of the blue fire, power in the blood/Born in the year of the Blind Maiden's vision/Four less one and the darkness triumphs./"  
  
Tania didn't say anything. Her? The Wild Power? There were other half breeds out there, there had to be? She remembered her mother again, telling her one day she would do something that would help a lot of people. Did her mother mean she would help the other Wild Powers save the world?   
  
"I don't know how to use any witch powers, or vampire powers," she said finally.  
  
"That doesn't matter," Fallon said, sounding eager. "Daybreak will train you, along with the other powers. The third Power we found, Iliana, she's like you, she's a lost witch who's learning to use her powers. They're training all the others too."  
  
"If you're the Wild Power then you've got to hide," Talasai said with a frown. "Phoenix hates you enough as it is. Imagine what she'd do if she knew you were the Wild Power."  
  
  
  
  
  
Tania frowned. She was right. Did Phoenix already know? She'd sent Parker to try and kill her once. It wasn't likely she would stop at that. She did not want to be confronted with Parker again. The same thing had happened twice when she'd been fighting with him. She didn't like the thoughts that were starting to form in her mind. A sinking feeling that was telling her that maybe Neona was right. She remembered talking to her Daybreak friend Mary-Lynnette Carter who had talked about discovering her own soulmate, about how at first she had hated him, and how the connection was not pleasant in the least. But then...he changed, and the soulmate connection became more pleasant.  
  
Tania shook her head abruptly. Just because the same thing had happened to Mary-Lynnette and Ash didn't mean that it was going to end up like that with her and Parker.   
  
"Okay," she said finally. "Let's go."  
  
They paid their bill, and left the café to find themselves confronted with Phoenix and a group of Night People waiting for them.   
  
"Go!" Phoenix ordered.  
  
And a fight broke out. Tania found that the Night People under Phoenix's orders somehow seemed to be coming at her more than the others. Phoenix herself wasn't taking part in the fight, she stood back, directing everyone else around.   
  
Tania plunged her stake into the heart of one of the vampires, jumping back at it reached out, clawing at her, it's knife slicing into her cheek. Pain struck, sharp and stinging.   
  
A scream sounded, and she glanced over to see Neona and Sheila backed into a corner, with nowhere to run, their witch fire was glowing, but it didn't seem to be having much effect.   
  
And Tania got mad. That wasn't right. It wasn't fair. As she felt her anger well inside her, something else seemed to be blooming too. Something from deep inside her, a part that had been hidden and was now waking.   
  
And the blue fire erupted from her in a blast of heat, hurtling towards the Night People attacking her friends. The blast flared to an unbelievable brightness. When it cleared, the figures in black were gone. Phoenix was still there, along with Stacia and Cort. They were surrounded by a sort of red-gold glow. They were all staring in disbelief.   
  
"One of them's the Wild Power," Stacia said, amazement clear in her voice.   
  
"Who?" Phoenix asked.   
  
Tania didn't know what to think. They didn't realise it was her. On one point, a plus for her. But...would it be a downside for everyone else?  
  
With a moment faster than the eye could see Phoenix suddenly sprang forward, grabbing Fallon and pressing a silver knife at the base of her throat. "Maybe if you don't want wolfie here to end up as a plaque on my wall, maybe you come with us and don't make any trouble."  
  
Tania looked at her friends, they all moved forward, deciding there was really no choice.   
  
Parker arrived then, seeming slightly out of it. "What's going on?"  
  
"One of Tania's group is the Final Wild Power," Stacia said.   
  
"You can't have missed the blast of blue fire," Cort snorted.   
  
Parker glanced over at Phoenix, who glared at him. Lovers spat? Tania wondered, trying not to smile.   
  
"You're mad," he muttered.  
  
"Yes, I'm mad," Phoenix snapped. "But I'll deal with you later. We have to figure out which one of them is the Wild Power. Move!" she snapped at the others.  
  
They were pushed into a large white van. There was nothing they could do as the door slammed shut and was locked from the outside.   
  
"Now what are we going to do?" Talasai asked.   
  
To make sure they didn't cause any trouble, Phoenix had taken Neona and Fallon in another car. Tania just shrugged helplessly. "I don't know."  
  
She dreaded to think what Phoenix would do to discover who the Power was. Whatever it was, it was unlikely to be pleasant.   
  
* * *   
  
  
  



	5. Part 5

Part 11  
  
Tania was confused. She knew full well she was the real Wild Power. What were Shelia and Neona doing? Phoenix looked confused. She had turned to Neona now, and raised her knife, now ready to stab her. She glanced over at Talasai, who shrugged helplessly.   
  
"Don't," she said. Tania glared. This was getting ridiculous. Phoenix turned, a look of fury on her face. Tania didn't understand why Talasai was smiling dryly. "Don't, it's me, I'm Spartacus."  
  
Tania blinked. "Who's Spartacus?"  
  
Talasai sighed. "It's not worth explaining."  
  
Phoenix looked ready to scream. "Oh the hell with it," she said. She threw away the knife and grabbed a wooden stake. She plunged the stake suddenly into Parker's heart.   
  
"No!" Tania shrieked. She could feel anger and heat welling up inside her. She felt the power come out of her in a blast of blue fire and magic, obscuring her vision. She blacked out.   
  
* * *  
When Tania came round she could move again. Phoenix was gone. Cort and Stacia was gone. The chains were gone, and everyone was free and heeled. She found herself in Parker's arms. "What happened?" she blinked.   
  
"You saved us," he said. He sounded surprised.  
  
"You sound surprised," she said.   
  
"I am, you saved me, why?"  
  
She studied him. "I guess because we really are soulmates, and god, I can't believe I'm saying this, because I'm sort of in love with you too,"  
  
His eyebrow raised. "Thanks a lot."  
  
"I mean that in a good way," she said.   
  
"Me too."  
  
"I knew it," Neona said brightly.   
  
"Who's Spartacus?" Shelia asked, looking confused.  
  
Talasai sighed and rolled her eyes. "Never mind."  
  
They headed up stairs to see Circle Daybreak agents had arrived, along with Tania's adopted mother.   
  
"What's going on?" Tania asked, confused.  
  
Her mother smiled. "We always knew you were the final power. And we guessed Phoenix had figured it out and would be jealous. So we went to get some reinforcements. Looks like we got here just in time."  
  
Tania didn't bother mentioning Phoenix had discovered Tania was the power by accident. Her mother had turned away, noticeably a little sad. Tania almost felt bad for killing Phoenix, but would shed no tears over it.   
  
"So now what?" Parker asked.   
  
Tania shrugged. "I don't know."  
  
* * *  
  
Epilogue  
  
Tania smiled, feeling really good for the first time in months. She had settled into a Circle Daybreak safe house with her friends and Parker, and they would stay there, until Daybreak called them for the final battle, in another month or so.   
  
"How you doing?" Parker murmured into her ear, joining her on the couch in the lounge.   
  
"I'm good," she said, and it was the truth. She had her soulmate now, and what could be better?   
  
"Nervous?" he asked.  
  
"A little," she admitted. She had no idea what would happen when the battle came. She tried not to think about it, deciding to deal with it when it happened.   
  
"Don't worry, everything'll be okay," he said reassuringly.   
  
"How can you be so sure?" she asked. For someone who had spent two hundred years as a bad guy, the change in his attitude had been remarkable. And all for her too. He made her feel all warm and tingly.   
  
He shrugged. "I don't," he admitted. "I was just trying to make you feel better."  
  
She grinned wickedly. "I can think of several ways to do that," she said.   
  
His eyebrow raised. "Oh? And what are those?"  
  
"shut up and kiss me," she ordered.  
  
And he did. The wonderful lightning and sparks of the soulmate connection washed around them. And she really did feel better.  
  
THE END.   
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
